Comprising 15 officers, the Unit will help Libya's CID investigate organized crime and terrorist activities. Following their initial training (26 May – 4 June), the recruits will benefit from the provision of crime analysis software in addition to regular on-site support and training in the framework of the project.

INTERPOL’s EUR 2.2 million Project RELINC is an initiative funded by the European Union to assist Libyan authorities in developing a sustainable capability to identify and address security threats.

The 18-month long initiative, launched in September 2012, is run from the Office of the Special Representative of INTERPOL to the European Union, Pierre Reuland. It is supported by INTERPOL’s Middle East and North Africa unit as well as by its Information Systems Directorate and Criminal Analysis Sub-Directorate at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France.

In addition to the development of a sustainable operational Crime Analysis Unit within the Libyan police’s Criminal Investigation Department, key components of the project include:

Performing a wide assessment of the threats posed to Libya by transnational organized crime and terrorism, to support the Libyan government and police in identifying strategic enforcement objectives;

Reinforcing the capacity of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Tripoli to make optimal use of the INTERPOL network and policing tools;

Building a prototype police criminal database within police headquarters to enable the Libyan police to efficiently store and share criminal information; and

Colonel Abdessalam Ashur, Head of Libya’s CID, General Luigi Scollo and Francesca Varlese representing the EU, and Olivier Bertrand, Head of Project Relinc, were among officials attending the inaugural training.